Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Julien Bridge, built in 3 BC, is an emblematic Roman work located 5 km north of Bonnieux, in the department of Vaucluse. It crossed the Calavon on via Domitia, a major route from Narbonne to Turin. His name comes from the proximity of Apt, then called Colonia Apta Julia. Ranked a historical monument in 1914, it illustrates Roman engineering with its three arches and its rubbish for floods.

Built in large local limestone apparatus, the bridge is 80 metres long, with an elevated central arch and semicircular fore-beeks. It replaced an earlier work, with traces remaining near the batteries. Used continuously until 2005, it was preserved by a road diversion. Today, it is integrated into the Calavon bike route, a European project linking Cavaillon and Volx.

The approaches to the bridge reveal remains of the ancient roadway, visible for 6 km, and the gorges of Roquefure upstream. Two cycle routes depart from the site: towards Apt (10 km) in the east, or towards Cavaillon (10 km) in the west. The bridge, owned by the municipality of Bonnieux, symbolizes the sustainability of Roman infrastructures in Provence.

Its ranking in 1914 and its integration into contemporary tourist projects (such as the ERDF bike route) underline its heritage importance. Local materials and construction techniques (dgueuloirs, fore-becs) are evidence of adaptation to the calavon terrain and floods. The site also offers a panorama of the valley and the history of the Roman ways in Galla Narbonnaise.

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